Congratulations Illinois 8A State Football Champion Coach Mike Stine ‘84

stineWhen someone reaches the pinnacle of their profession it’s certainly worth noting and one of our own, Mike Stine ’84 did that this past weekend. Mike is the Head Varsity Football Coach at Naperville Central High School and his team won the Illinois State 8A Football Championship on Saturday. The Redhawks had an incredible year fighting through the DuPage Valley Conference, arguably the toughest in the state, and then proceeding to win four straight in the playoffs against the best teams in Illinois to win the prestigious 8A crown (largest school class in Illinois).Continue reading

Rob Kneupfer, Jr. 1974 Dennison recognized with Order of Merit from Hungary

Knuepfer“…to have no narrower limits within which to work together for the elevation of man than the outlines of the world…”

We all know those words from the ATO Creed but few exemplify them better than Robert C. Knuepfer, Jr. 1974, Dennison. Normally, we reserve reporting here for Gamma Zeta News and Rob wasn’t a Gamma Zeta. But, his grandfather, Russell S White 1917 was GZ Worthy Master in 1916/17 and his uncles, Robert L. White 1946 and David N. White 1954 are Gamma Zetas. Also, Rob served as Gamma Zeta Chapter Consultant and went on to be National Worthy Grand Chief… so, we’ll proudly claim him.

On Friday, November 22 at a reception in Chicago, Rob was honored with the Order of Merit of Hungary by Zswolt Nemeth, Deputy Foreign Minister. Rob was recognized for his years of service to Hungary and in large part for his efforts in helping Hungary transition from socialism to capitalism. Just to put Rob’s influence in perspective, he also oversaw the opening of Baker & McKenzie offices in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kiev, Tashkent, Baku, Warsaw and Prague, and helped bring high-profile U.S. companies to Hungary, including General Motors, Ford, General Electric and Pepsi.

Here’s a link to an article in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin which provides a great deal more detail about Rob – “A knight-like recognition” – http://www.chicagolawbulletin.com/Articles/2013/12/02/Amicus-Curious-Knuepfer-12-2-13.aspx

Bob Simonds (Gamma Zeta ’46) was invited to represent ATO at the reception honoring Rob. Bob was unable to attend so he invited John Aymond ’80 and Dane Luhrsen ’77 to stand in for him and they were honored to represent ATO in support of Rob at the reception.

Chapter Eternal – Dr. Mick Turk ‘61

Jim “Dobie” Dobrovolny passed on the sad note that Dr. Mick Turk ‘61 passed. Here is a link to Mick’s obituary:

http://www.news-gazette.com/obituaries/2013-11-22/michael-turk.html

“He was great friends with Dr. Bill Mohlenbrock ’61 now from San Diego. They grew up together in Murphysboro. Mick played baseball at UI and Bill played Basketball for Harry Combs here. Mick learned that he had had cancer in both of his kidneys very recently. He was a very generous and gentle man who donated much of his time in retirement to providing dental services to kids in need. I think he has a grandson on Notre Dame’s nationally ranked hockey team. Mick always had a smile and kind word for anyone, loved to play golf, smoke a cigar, and help kids.”

Jim “Dobie” Dobrovolny ‘70

“We have been the closest of friends since about the 7th grade. We played football and basketball together and no two young guys could have been closer. He left U of I early when he had the opportunity to take a seat in the dental school. He was one of us Taus. Mick had been retired for 5 or so years and was content and happy.”

Dr. Bill Mohlenbrock ‘61

Mike Finke, son of Jeff Finke ’90 signs with Illini Basketball

Finke1Jeff Finke ’90 starred on the Illini Basketball and football teams back in the late 80’s. Now his son, Mike has followed his dad’s footsteps to play for the Illini. John Groce announced this week that Mike has signed to play basketball for the Illini. Here’s a link to the announcement at FightingIllini.com – http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/111613aaa.html

Congratulations to the Finke’s!!finke bb

finke fb

Honoring Gamma Zeta Servicemen on Veteran’s Day

CapelLast week on November 11, our country honored our servicemen on Veteran’s Day. This past Saturday, the Illini football team wore helmets honoring the ten Illini football players who died in the service with special helmets displaying ten stars, one for each of these men. One of those stars recognized Gamma Zeta Bruce Capel ’65 who was killed in action in Viet Nam.

Gamma Zeta has a proud tradition of service to our country.  During WWI and WWII, the house was closed down for a time due to so many of our brothers leaving for military duty.   Many more served during Viet Nam and though today.  Three Gamma Zetas that I’m aware of have risen to the very top ranks of our services – Major General Edward B. Giller 1940 – Air Force, Brigadier General Frank E. Blazey Jr. 1946 – Army and Rear Admiral William D. Masters, Jr. 1965 – Navy.  However, over time, I’d like to record and recognize all of our Veterans in some way so please send  me the information.Continue reading

Chapter Eternal – Stephen Hill ’55

Steve HillWe’re very sorry to pass on the news that Stephen Hill ’55 passed away last November. Stephen was originally from Springfield, IL but in his later years, lived in LaGrange. He was part of a great group of guys who became Gamma Zetas from Springfield at that time including Carl and Bob Baker, Bob Phillips, Dick Kurz, Paul Hayes and Dick Walbaum.

He earned his undergraduate degree in commerce and law in 1955 from the University of Illinois and continued his studies in law, passing the Illinois Bar Exam in 1957. Continue reading

Scott Tolzien’s Proud Father – Mike “Var” Tolzien ‘75

VarCheck out this podcast that Bill “BB” Barry ‘77 just passed on which includes an interview that Mike “Var” Tolzein ‘75 recently did on a Wisconsin Sports Radio show regarding his son Scott who has just become the starting QB for the Green Bay Packers.

Here’s the link – http://www.620wtmj.com/podcasts/news/wisconsinafternoonnews/231800291.html

Scott was 24-34 for 339 yards last Sunday against the Giants.

Congrats to Scott and Var!!

Go Packers!!!

Peter “Raven” Korst’s (GZ ’76) Trip to Chile

Raven 1Peter Korst participated in a fascinating trip to Chile this past spring as a part of IBM’s Executive Service Corp. The following is an interview with Peter after he returned from the trip.

I understand that you just returned from a trip to Chile. How did you get involved and what was the purpose of the trip?… why Chile?

IBM is seeing its greatest percentage revenue growth in developing countries, termed “growth markets”.   Infrastructure can often be a bottleneck for those countries’ growth. Things like adequate roads and transit, water quality, power availability, education and healthcare are examples of basic infrastructure that may lag behind potential explosive growth and ultimately limit the economy. IBM is investing over $50M in pro-bono projects around the world to address some of these issues. We launched a “Smarter Cities Challenge” where cities would submit applications to land one of these projects. 400 cities applied and Valparaiso, Chile was one of 100 selected. Their application was based on economic growth which has personal automobile purchases and usage skyrocketing but with very limited space to carry the traffic, due to the geography of the region. They needed help developing an action plan to address the movement of people, goods and services in the Valparaiso region.Continue reading